If you have just received notification from the Social Security Administration that your claim for benefits has been denied is there anything else that can be done? Yes, the original decision can be appealed.

A good two thirds of all applications for Social Security Disability benefits are denied; when the administration does deny the application they advise the applicant what they did why they did it. If you do not agree with their decision there is a social security appeals process available which allows you to ask the SSA to reconsider their original decision. When you apply for reconsideration the SSA reviews the application again along with additional documents that you provide to support your claim; if the SSA, upon review, finds that they were wrong they will reverse the decision, if they feel that denial of benefits was the correct decision they will once again deny to application.

When can you appeal?

If the original application for benefits that you made was denied you have 60 days from receipt of the denial letter to make your initial appeal.

What are the Social Security appeals levels?

There are three levels of appeal

  • A hearing in front of an administrative judge
  • A review held by an appeals council
  • A review in Federal Court

The Social Security Administration will provide you with all the necessary information on how you can appeal their decision and at which of the three levels your appeal will be heard.

You can have help with your appeal?

Although many applicants for SS disability benefits handle their own appeals it is recommended that you hire a lawyer. The lawyer, in the eyes of the SSA is your representative and they work with him or her in exactly the same way they would have worked with you had you made the appeal personally. The lawyer will act for you on most matters and gets the notification of the decisions that are made during the appeals process.

The hearing:

If you disagree with the initial denial of benefits you can request a hearing on the issues in your claim. These issues include whether you are truly disabled, when the disability began and whether or not it has ended. The hearing will be held in front of a judge who was not involved in the original denial of benefits.

Appeals Council:

If your application was denied in the hearing the next stage in the Social Security appeals process is to address an appeals council. If the council believes the original decisions to be correct they can deny the request for further review or they can return it to the administrative judge for further review.

If you exhaust all these available appeal processes you can file a lawsuit in Federal Court.





The Social Security appeals process is very time consuming, tedious and complicated. Although you can pursue the process on your own, it is recommended that you hire an attorney who is intimate with the process. You are invited to contact Business Name Read more about them at Website Domain.